


A Friend of my Friends

by GoggledMonkey



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: AU, Gen, a slight change in events, so these two can meet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-01
Updated: 2016-02-01
Packaged: 2018-05-17 13:37:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5871640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoggledMonkey/pseuds/GoggledMonkey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the spectacular failure of his mission on Takodana, Poe meets a stranger just as upset by these events as he is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Friend of my Friends

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ninety6tears](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninety6tears/gifts).



Failing his mission hits hard.

Even when Poe had been captured and tortured by the First Order well, at least, he was still loyal. And when Kylo Ren had ripped open Poe's mind forcing him to betray everything he cared about well, at least, BB-8 was still free. And when Poe'd been stranded and injured on Jakku, droid missing, his new Ex-Stormtrooper friend gone (and most likely dead) well, at least…

Ok, it had been pretty bleak. But the mission had not failed and that was enough to keep Poe going. It drove him forward. He got into a ship, got off Jakku, and finally tracked that little BB unit all the way to Takodana, of all places, in the hands of the legendary pirate slash war hero Han Solo, of all people. And wouldn't that be a story for BB-8 to tell.

But…

Poe hadn't flown fast enough; the mission had failed.

BB-8 was captured. The map to Luke Skywalker that General Organa had personally asked Poe to retrieve was in the hands of the First Order. And after they got the map from the droid, BB-8 was likely slated to be smelted down for scrap. And there was nothing to be done about that because people, even people in the Resistance, don't plan rescue missions for droids.

So it hits hard.

Guilt roils around inside him. It's as if the weapon that vaporised the Hosnian system had been focused to a pinpoint and fired at his chest leaving him hollow and bleeding.

Worst of all Poe finds himself paralyzed practically hiding in the shadow of Black One's landing struts. It's such a childish thing to do, to hide, like he's six and has broken something, but he can't face the Generals' eyes knowing he's failed knowing he's basically hand delivered her brother to the First Order.

But in trying to not imagine how disappointed she must be in him, he finds his mind caught in a loop going over everything he'd done in the last few week trying to find the point where if he had changed that one thing, he wouldn't have failed.

How could he have not gotten captured? How could he have flown the Tie Fighter better? How could he have gotten off Jakku faster?

A loud metallic clang startles him out of his head.

The tarmac is all but empty with everyone either in the briefing room (like Poe was supposed to be) or pretending to do work near the briefing room so they could snoop. For the last twenty minutes, the only talking Poe's heard was the whirl and beeps of the maintenance droids and the soft grunts Poe hears now that he's actively listening are not droid noises.

When he steps out of the T-70's shadow to investigate he sees a human woman digging intently through a crate. Poe doesn't watch her long before she notices him with a jerk and stares at him dark eyes glittering, shoulders hunching up defensively.

It's the body language of someone caught doing something they shouldn't be. And Poe doesn't know her; he's never seen her seen her before. The hair rises on the back of his neck.

He shrugs the disquiet he feels down, straightens his shoulders and plasters his face with a winning smile.

"Hey, anything I can help you with?"

She doesn't smile back. Somehow she manages to have a masked face without a mask. His smile becomes more forced; lately, he isn't fond of masks.

"No," she keeps the crate between them. "Thank you," She adds a beat later with a lilt like the two words were from a language foreign to her.

Who is she? Is she supposed to be here?

The paranoia is new. Calm down Dameron, the logical part of him says. The First Order doesn't have spies on D'Qar and any spies they did employ probably wouldn't appear so obviously out of place.

His hand twitches by his blaster.

She sees and her elbow bends as she reaches for the staff strapped to her back. Time crawls and Poe sees both of them reaching for weapons, violence imminent like he's floating outside his body. He has no idea where this impulse to shoot a stranger has come from. He doesn't like it; it's not him.

He forces down the distrust and fear and tries his award winning smile again sliding his hands out away from the blaster with an easy grace that he doesn't feel.

"Maybe we're getting off on the wrong foot here. My name's Poe." He holds his hand out for her to shake. She doesn't take it. Instead, there's an instantaneous change in her face; shock, recognition and something else more vulnerable that turns her from suspicious battle droid to a human person.

"Poe Dameron!?"

"The one and only," he replies his smile genuine now. He's been called cocky by no less then General Organa (the general means it with love) and it's not an unwarranted accusation. "I guess my reputation proceeds me."

His voice is only slightly flirty.

"BB-8's Poe?"

Hearing that designation hurts more than he'd expected and Poe's grin falters.

"BB-8," he replies, dumbly but then that explained her dust coloured robes if she were from a desert planet like Jakku. Did she travel with his droid all the way to Takodana? Who is she?

"Finn's Poe?" she asks before he can speak.

"Finn?!" That name is even more unexpected to hear, he grins delighted, "He's…alive?"

"I…I don't know." She winces as the smile drops from his face. "Sorry. We were separated on Takodana and when The First Order captured BB-8 they took Finn as well."

They share a grim look. Whatever The First Order plans for Finn is, it won't be nice. Poe' mind starts racing. They can't just leave them there.

"What are you doing out here then? Have you talked to the General? I can introduce you." The resistance must be able to do something.

She shakes her head wildly, "No. Han's already spoken to her. She says she'll do what she can but they are too concerned with destroying this Starkiller Base. But that's fine. I know where it is now; I'll go get them myself."

Poe stares at her, "You're going to fly to a First Order base by yourself and stage a rescue mission?"

"I have to!" her face is set and determined. "I promised BB-8 that I would get him back to the Resistance. And Finn…"

She bites her lip and the guilt that creeps over her face is oh so familiar a feeling "He wouldn't have gotten captured if he hadn't come back for me. So of course, I'm going!" She ends her speech squared up against Poe as if daring him to stop her.

"Alright. I'm in." He says instead, relief and adrenaline flooding his system in equal measure. Finally, he could -do- something "What's the plan?"

"You want to help me?" The wonder in her face is enough to break his heart.

"Of course. The friend of my friend right?"

"What?"

"It's like the friend of my enemy is…never mind. What I mean is you're a friend of my friend so you're my friend too."

"Which one?"

"What?"

"Which one is your friend?"

"Both. I want to get both back."

"Me too," her voice is earnest and soft.

"Let's do this." He offers her his hand again and this time, she takes it. She doesn't shake. Instead, she laces their fingers together and squeezes.

"Right." She nods determination back. "So the plan is first, we need a ship."

"Can't take mine. I don't have an Astromech for the hyper jump." Not that the two of them could really fit in a T-70 unless they stacked up in the cockpit.

"I was thinking something sturdier." She gives him a conspiring smile that lights up her eyes and glances significantly over Poe's shoulder.

He looks.

"You want to steal Han Solo's ship?"

"No! We'll just borrow it. We'll bring it back."

It's a half-cocked fly by the seat of your pants plan and Poe loves it so much it makes him giddy.

"Well, I've always wanted to pilot the Millennium Falcon."

"Co-pilot." She corrects. "I'm the pilot."

"I'm the best pilot in the resistance."

She makes a rude noise at him, "You just said you've never even flown it and I have. Co-pilot."

Poe can fly anything but he can't even be mad at her statement because their hands are still linked and they about to fly off into certain death and destruction. He's never felt more alive.

Having a mission is close enough to having hope

"Alright, fine captain... What's your name anyway?"

"I'm Rey."

"Nice to meet you Rey; let's go get our friends."


End file.
